What Longboard Wheel Should I Get?

When it comes to longboard wheels, the sea of choices is vast and quite deep. If you know what you're looking for, you can quickly get to the bottom and find the right new set of wheels for what you want to do. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when narrowing down the options.

Are you building a cruiser board?

A cruiser board would be a traditional skate deck with larger/softer wheels that make it great for transportation or non-technical skating. If so, watch your wheel size. Traditional skateboards do not have additional room for larger wheels so stick to wheels size 65mm and under. If you are leaning towards 60mm-65mm, you will probably need a small riser (around 1/4").

Will you be commuting on less-than-perfect roads?

If your day to day ride is rough, opt for a larger, softer wheel with a wide contact patch. This will help you to roll over all the cracks, bumps and rocks in your way and in turn give you a nice smooth ride. Check out wheels in the 60mm - 75mm range with a durometer rating under 90A. Also be sure you board has the wheel base clearance to handle a larger wheel.

Interested in sliding?

If you are already sliding or hope to learn how, you will want to look out for a specific slide-friendly wheel. Slide wheels have a 'broken-in' surface texture and are generally center-set. Opinions vary on whether soft or harder slide wheels work best but more importantly these wheels will have a rounded lip for a more smooth slide initiation.

Looking to do some downhill?

When it comes to downhill, it's all about stability. Wheels play a big part of overall stability and traction. Look for a wheel with a wide contact patch, sticky urethane and a squared lip profile. Some may argue that a harder wheel is also desirable since it can hit higher speeds faster than a softer wheel but that is also open to personal preference.

Take a look at our longboard wheel guide below for more information on the tech behind longboard wheels.